Interests

A virtual view of an Iraqi military R-300 'Elbrus' (NATO: ‘Scud B’) Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missile with MAZ-543M Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL). It is one of the most intact examples of these ubiquitous tactical field missiles.
http://nasatech.net/ScudSS-1B/

Hello all,
Here are some shots of my quick build Tamiya 1/35 M1A1 Abrams with mine plow. The kit has been in my stash since it was released...so it's suffered long enough. While surpassed by newer and more accurate Abrams kits, it certainly "looks" like an Abrams. Besides, I needed a quick build to jump start my modeling mojo and this kit fit the bill. I have been getting bogged down on a couple of my Tiger builds and find that sometimes stepping back and just building something completely OOB gets the enthusiasm flowing again. I started this model last Wednesday and have gotten to the initial decaling and weathering stages. I still have the chains to rig on the mine plow, the mine plow power cord to thread through the removed right drivers vision block (which was how pictures show it rather then through an open drivers hatch as Tamiya would have you do it), bustle rack stowage... lots of stowage, an ID plate to make for the back middle of the bustle rack, figures to paint (yikes!), track blocks need to be painted black, and obviously decals and a little more weathering (but nothing too crazy). My Abrams will depict an M1A1 from Operation Desert Storm.
Thanks for looking! Feel free to comment.
Regards.
Don

Interesting piece of history I just discovered while reading William L. Smallwood’s book “Strike Eagle: Flying The F-15E In The Gulf War.” On the night of February 13, 1991 a Strike Eagle was on Scud patrol in western Iraq when a transmission from AWACS diverted them on a priority tasking for troops in contact. While receiving the target coordinate information they were cleared to “kill all helicopters.” The result was one Mi-24 Hind being blown to bits while airborne by an LGB dropped right into it’s canopy. Something that has been forever etched into aviation history. Now here’s the part I learned. The calls for help from the guys came from a Special Forces helicopter pilot that was hiding his bird on the ground from the hunting Hinds. That pilot turns out was none other than WO Cliff Wolcott of the 160th SOAR.